Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Unwanted Advice

Ajax the cat strikes this pose at the evening dinner table every night we have salmon or fish. He is looking for some munchies. He always comes to my side of the table for some reason. Perhaps he knows that is where instant gratification lies. A small morsel perhaps.

Speaking of instant gratification, I think that is what congressional candidate Eric Griego is seeking. I am on his mailing list and he is running against a general election candidate already. He seems to be ignoring former Mayor Marty Chavez and the primary election challenge he faces there. I can't imagine why his campaign staff thinks this is a good strategy, but they must have their reasons. In the meantime all three candidates in that primary seem virtually invisible in the media, both free and paid. Eric, whom I support, came up with a gimmicky delivery of petitions to republican Janice Arnold Jones asking her to support medicare and denounce the republican budget. It got zero attention from anyone and there was no upside to it.

My advice is that you should run your primary race before taking on the general election. Especially in this kind of race where there is no clear favorite.

And finally some more advice, now that the voters will get to have their say on the rebuilding of the Paseo I-25 interchange in Albuquerque, the Mayor should tone down the recriminations and finger pointing at the city councillors who wanted the vote. His assertions that it would now cost the taxpayers another $10 million is baloney. I like Mayor Berry but who ever thought up this strategy on this issue needs to be put in the doghouse.

I would also advise the Albuquerque Journal to at least state their conflict of interest in their editorial performance on this issue. They have exhibited a double standard in saying a vote isn't important. I recall back when I was Mayor the publisher was always whining about the amount of traffic on Jefferson Blvd. in front of their facility. They complained it wasn't designed to carry the amount of traffic that it did. They were correct, but they still supported increased sprawl and development on the west side and saw no value on impact fees that might have built a new interchange at Paseo.

1 comment:

My three cats, particularly Miss Bama, constantly lobby me for salmon. I prefer to feed them in their food dishes, though. At least it keeps them in the kitchen when I'm trying to eat. Yes, they have trained their human servant well.

I think the problem the Congressional campaigns have is that they don't want to be seen as engaging in mudslinging, especially early. In a 3-way race, voters often blame both the attacker and the attacked, which gives an advantage to the other candidate. I think we saw this dynamic at work in the last mayoral campaign when Richard Romero attacked Marty Chavez for his evident corruption. The attacks were valid, but they helped Mayor Berry, not Richard Romero. Of course, Romero seemed to only be running against Marty, not for himself, and Berry was the only Republican in the race.

I expect that groups who have endorsed candidates will do the attacking, since the candidates themselves won't be directly attached to the ads. It seems to have worked for Mitt Romney, after all. That leaves Marty up the creek, though, because he only has personal endorsements, unlike Eric Griego [unions, progressive groups, and environmental groups] and Michelle Lujan Grisham [women's groups, especially Emily's List.]

I think Eric's stunt was aimed at Dan Lewis, then hastily switched to Janice Arnold-Jones when Lewis dropped out of the race. I agree that it fell flat, but at least he's trying to define himself. Michelle's campaign and appeal seems to be entirely based on women's identity politics, which does nothing for me. I don't consider gender or ethnicity to be qualifications for public office. All three candidates are good on women's issues, which you would expect from almost any Democrat.

Full disclosure: I enthusiastically support Eric Griego for Congress. I can support Michelle Lujan Grisham if she manages to win the primary, but I'm not enthusiastic about doing so. I'd only vote for Marty Chavez if I absolutely had to, holding my nose in disgust. Among other things, I blame Marty for the cancerous growth on the West Side, which is why we're having to pay for the Paseo interchange reconstruction now. Moreover, it's often easier to get rid of a Republican than a corrupt Democrat.

About Me

Jim Baca has a strong record of visionary service to New Mexico. He retired as the State of New Mexico's Natural Resource Trustee 1n 2010. He has served as Mayor of the City of Albuquerque, as well as two prior terms as New Mexico’s elected State Land Commissioner. He served as the Director of the National Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior in the first Clinton Administration. Jim Baca also serves on the Boards of numerous non profit organizations including The Wilderness Society and the Wyss Foundation and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Baca has run a successful public affairs consulting practice when not serving in public office. He spends his retirement playing golf, attending board meetings, and generally doing what ever he wants to do.